The Loading... program at The Crane School of Music supports students in a welcoming learning environment, strong opportunities for connection and collaboration, individualized attention, and access to significant opportunities available only to Composition majors.
Our program supports your creativity across a wide variety of genres, including current trends in classical music, film and video game scoring, electronic music, and composing for the theater, among others.As a Composition Major at The Crane School of Music:
- You will gain a wide variety of perspectives by studying with a number of composition faculty members over the course of your degree. (And all private composition lessons are always taught by faculty, never graduate students.)
- You will have access to a state-of-the-art computer music studio.
- You will enjoy many opportunities to collaborate with performers and to hear your music performed live on our regularly scheduled composition recitals. There are also opportunities to present your music in off-campus venues.
- You will have the freedom to explore several elective options in arranging and orchestration, electronic and computer music, counterpoint, jazz, world music, and other areas.
- You will have opportunities to work with guest ensembles in reading sessions and in master classes hosted by guest composers.
- And you will create and compile a substantial portfolio of compositions, which can be used in preparation for graduate programs or professional work opportunities.
To apply for the composition major at Crane, please submit two or three original scores of contrasting character that best highlight your creativity and potential for compositional growth. You should submit your scores and optional recordings (live recordings are encouraged, but not required) as music notation files (such as Musescore), or in pdf format to the Crane’s School of Music’s online audition platform, Acceptd, as a component of your application materials.
We encourage applicants to audition and interview on-campus, either during one of our scheduled audition dates or independently. If you are unable to attend an audition on-campus, but would like to apply to our Composition program, we will set up a phone or video interview to discuss our program with you along with your goals and aspirations as a composer.
For further information or to schedule a virtual lesson, please contact Dr. Jerod Sommerfeldt via email at sommerjp@potsdam.edu.